Bostinno | Emily Payne | June 11, 2013

The MBTA consistently churns out horrid, hilarious, and shocking news stories for the city of Boston. From the poop bus to frisky riders, it’s always an adventure. A not-so-funny reality is that attacks on MBTA drivers is on the rise: 50 assaults have been reported this year, which is about a third increase from the 33 reported at this time last year.

Just last week, a Marblehead man was arrested for head-butting an MBTA driver, who was hospitalized because of the incident. The attacker will serve three months in jail. However, many of the assaults are less violent and more flat-out degrading: 40 percent of reported attacks have been spitting.

“I would rather myself be hit than spit on,” claims John Lee, president of the Carmen’s Union (Local 589, representing T operators) and a former bus driver for 13 years. It gets worse: Lee even reported cups of urine thrown onto employees.

Now, the MBTA means business. In an effort to bring justice to the disgruntled customers who have spit, hit, and thrown urine on MBTA drivers, the MBTA has unleashed various campaigns and enlisted the public’s help via surveillance videos of the perpetrators. Creating the unsettling illusions that everyone and anyone around us could be a criminal, the latest MBTA marketing campaign has ads on the back of seats which make the person sitting look as though they are arrested. In a “big brother” fashion, the Transit Police Chief’s voice now rings through T stations: “Think twice before putting your hands on T staff. We will find you, arrest you and prosecute you.”

Apparently, putting an end to this problem is harder than one would expect. Current Massachusetts law states that unless an attack is actually witnessed by a transit police officer, all the officer can do is issue a court summon to a suspect. State representative Jim Miceli of Tewskbury has proposed legislation that would allow transit police to arrest based on statements from witnesses such as the driver and riders. Other campaigns and efforts include the See Say App, surveillance cameras, and possible barriers between riders and drivers.

With the ever-present threat of fare-hikes and constant stories of delays or service cuts, could the MBTA’s decline in quality of service correlate with an increase in assaults? O’Connor thinks this frustration could be playing a role. So chill out, everyone, because we all know the fare isn’t getting cheaper anytime soon.